Snak

Sjældent jeg gider høre på TUS, men alligevel ret vild morgen show de har haft kørende her til morgen hvor Wilcox og Barrada angivelig skulle have haft et møde med spillerne og spurgt dem om de havde manager ønsker efter fyrringen af Amorim?? Altså wtf hvis det er rigtigt. Topmålet af ledelses inkompetence.

Mange spillere var ikke glade for fyrringen i øvrigt og alligevel har man forsøgt at spinne en historie om at man igår havde "den bedste træning i 1/2 år", hvor det der er kommet frem på diverse SoMe ikke stemmer overens med det man har ønsket at plante i medierne.

Angivelig skulle SJR nu også have presset på for at få skiftet formation til 4-3-3 som giver mere mening i forhold til at Wilcox skulle have overtalt Barrada alene til at man skulle skifte formation. Dejligt hvis vi nu også har en ejer der sætter formationen i holdet randomly midt i sæsonen - det er fuldstændig som Chelsea det her hvis det er rigtigt.

Whitwell har skrevet en meget lang artikel om hvad der gik galt. Har udvalgt de vigtigste ting nedenunder. Det kommer dog lidt tilfældigt i rækkefølge.

Spoiler: Ratcliffe lyder som en idiot og Amorim var langt fra fejlfri mens Wilcox nok får mest positiv omtale.
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Taktik
In their face-to-face meeting at Carrington, Wilcox suggested to Amorim that the players were struggling to gain trust in his 3-4-2-1 system and had become confused over his vision. Amorim would train the team in a back four, only for a back three to be selected in games. They also sensed he lacked faith in them due to his selections and public statements.

Amorim responded that the players needed to be changed. Wilcox said he wanted to work through the issues, evolving the squad over time but sticking with Amorim. Amorim reacted by saying he wished to leave the club and would be calling his agent.

The irony is that Wilcox, who regularly watches training, was seen as one of Amorim’s big allies. They would talk daily and conversations took place over formations. Wilcox is known to like the 4-3-3 that has brought Manchester City such success, although up until recently, that did not translate into direct advice to Amorim.

However, Ratcliffe has made his desire for United to switch to a back four clear and it is felt Wilcox has increased his efforts to persuade Amorim to show more flexibility. United insiders say an evolution was always part of the plan, with Amorim telling officials at the outset he wanted to start with a back three, but would add layers once players better understood his methods.

Amorim did adapt to a degree by sending his team out in a predominantly 4-4-2 shape against Bournemouth on December 15, and then a clear 4-2-3-1 system against Newcastle United on Boxing Day. During talks with Antonie Semenyo, he told the Bournemouth forward he would play as a left-winger in a 4-3-3.
But when Amorim reverted to his 3-4-2-1 for Wolves’ visit, the half-time substitution of Joshua Zirkzee, one of his few senior attackers, concerned members of United’s hierarchy.
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Semenyo
Recruitment was another tension for Amorim that came to a boil. The problems began last summer but a specific recent grievance was that he felt United had failed to give their all to sign Semenyo, who is set to join Manchester City.

Perhaps more consequential was the legacy of last summer’s aborted pursuit. Semenyo went as far as dining with Amorim and Wilcox in London during a charm offensive, only for United to switch targets to Mbeumo because they viewed Bournemouth’s £70m asking price as too high. Mbeumo was projected as costing at most £55m, but eventually Brentford pushed the fee to £65m plus £6m in add-ons. Semenyo was disappointed that he had been rejected for a player ending up at the same valuation, and he seemed in no rush to answer United’s call a second time around.

Instead of using the money earmarked for Semenyo on another January transfer, however, Amorim was told that major reinforcements would have to wait until summer. Having arrived with a mandate for change, which would require work in the market, Amorim detected an uncertainty from above.
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Amorim sidste pressekonference
He brought up “the sporting director” and “the scouting department”, saying that everybody needed to do their jobs. Wilcox was a target; so too, in all likelihood, was Vivell, United’s director of recruitment. There has been friction between Amorim and Vivell over signings, notably Benjamin Sesko and Senne Lammens, as well as tactics. Vivell has mentioned internally that United need more variability, and earlier in the season highlighted Fulham manager Marco Silva’s comments about Amorim’s side being easy to play against.

On Sunday, Amorim marked his territory, suggesting people at the club might not be able to “handle” the criticism of former United captain Gary Neville. It is believed to be a reference to the possibility that Ratcliffe watches Neville’s podcast, in which he has questioned Amorim’s tactics, but it surprised people at United.
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Fyring
Berrada and Wilcox then called a meeting with the players. Wilcox told those listening that the last two days had really shocked him. He insisted the club had given Amorim what he wanted, but he had made his feelings clear on an exit. “We don’t understand where the last 48 hours have come from,” he told the squad. Wilcox said Amorim had changed and United had to act.
Wilcox, who has taken soundings from players, also told them he had sensed some situations where they were not on the same wavelength as Amorim.
Wilcox informed the players that Fletcher would be in charge for the next two games, taking in Wednesday’s trip to Burnley and Sunday’s home FA Cup tie against Brighton & Hove Albion. Fletcher then took the session alongside Travis Binnion, the under-21s lead coach. The mood was said to be excellent.
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Kompensation
United are liable to pay up Amorim’s contract in full, £10m for him and his six staff members. There had been speculation that the compensation figure had been reduced once Amorim was in place for a year, but he negotiated a strong deal because United wanted him to leave Sporting CP early.
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Ny træner
United will take their time on a new permanent appointment, potentially waiting until summer when the contracts of Oliver Glasner (Crystal Palace), Andoni Iraola (Bournemouth), and Marco Silva (Fulham) are set to expire.

Fletcher will get a chance to show his credentials, but a longer-term caretaker has not been ruled out, with Solskjaer even under consideration in what would be an emotional comeback. Michael Carrick has also been mentioned for a possible return, while Evans could also be appointed to the club’s coaching staff, possibly in time to assist Fletcher at Burnley tomorrow. Wilcox, who will lead the process, and Berrada are aware that knowledge of United can be beneficial.
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Stats/data
Berrada and Wilcox, alongside Amorim, pointed to good underlying numbers, including expected goals (xG), as reasons to detect progress. They mentioned how such an approach had aided Manchester City’s rise. For instance, United staff showed Matheus Cunha how a shot he tried from outside the area at Brentford, with Bruno Fernandes free, had a low xG.
Ratcliffe wants United to embrace the numbers and is in regular contact with Michael Sansoni, the club’s director of data science, although that has not always been seen as helpful by other football staff.
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Bomb Squad
At the Old Trafford meeting, David Gill had thoughts of his own, challenging Amorim on the logic of consigning some of the club’s biggest names to the ‘bomb squad’ — pointing out that exiling Marcus Rashford, Alejandro Garnacho, Jadon Sancho and Antony had cost the club millions.
Some at United feel the treatment of Garnacho, who departed for Chelsea in a £40m deal in August, reduced his value by £15m. Tyrell Malacia did not leave and was eventually reintegrated into the first-team squad, but not before a spell training with the under-21s on Amorim’s insistence and, on one occasion when that squad was involved in a match, with the under-18s.

That was, though, a sign of United backing Amorim — and arguably treating him as a ‘manager’, rather than the head coach of his job description. He also attended the executive committee meeting at the end of last season, a high-level summit including Ratcliffe and executive co-chairmen and directors Joel and Avram Glazer, while the club went along with his wishes to scrap an Amazon documentary.
Indeed, last summer, United were so committed to Amorim they were prepared to sell Kobbie Mainoo for £40m. Mainoo is one of the big winners from Amorim’s departure. Feeling he had no future under Amorim, the 20-year-old midfielder wanted a loan away, but he is now expected to stay.
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9’er+Keeper
When it came down to signing Aston Villa striker Ollie Watkins or Sesko from RB Leipzig, Amorim would have preferred Watkins — older, then aged 29, but proven in the Premier League.

That, however, was not a major issue: a bigger point of contention was the goalkeeper. Amorim wanted experience, namely Emiliano Martinez, also at Villa. United, having been recommended the 23-year-old Lammens by Tony Coton, the club’s chief goalkeeping scout, went for the younger player. He was also much less expensive in transfer fee and wages.

It aggravated Amorim, but United believe that signing Lammens shows that figures such as Wilcox and Vivell are taking the long-term view.
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Glazers/ledelse
But Amorim continued to feel a reduction in his authority. That might be attributed in part to the Glazers, who have been expressing their dissatisfaction over results as early as August. They are still expected to let Ratcliffe run the club but can, in theory, step in at any time as majority shareholders. They do have questions about the setup and relevant experience of those in charge.
There are big questions for Berrada, after he backed Amorim’s appointment so decisively. Dan Ashworth, then sporting director, initially recommended candidates with Premier League experience. Wilcox had reservations about picking a manager so wedded to a back three but came round.
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Amorims kommunikation
While Amorim was charming and generous with fans and regular staff, some players wanted better communication from him.
On occasions, though, he responded positively to being challenged. He and Martinez squared up to each other during training in December, in the period when United faced Crystal Palace and West Ham United. Martinez considered himself ready to start and, feeling Amorim was overlooking him, made his point in what has been described as an “intense” manner.
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Akademiet
Amorim’s relationship with the academy was also a subject of contention. He declined the chance to give Shea Lacey his debut in the stress-free surroundings of the 4-1 victory at Wolves, instead throwing him on with United 2-1 down at Aston Villa.
Bendito Mantato’s arrival as a late substitute against Wolves, when his previous performance at Old Trafford for United’s under-21s against Athletic Club suggested he is still a raw 17-year-old, left some confused. Calls such as those are the head coach’s prerogative, and he might have felt any questions to that end were unjustified — but one senior member of staff did not recall Amorim ever attending an academy game during his tenure.
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Coach vs. manager
United say the head coach is a key part of the club’s “ecosystem”, but they cannot sit above it, and a collaborative approach is the way to achieve success. Whoever comes in next on a permanent basis will need to adhere to that.

Wilcox is on record on that theme. “I’m a coach at heart,” he told the United former players’ association in September. “That’s a strength in my role now but also causes me a bit of a problem because I always want to interfere in what the managers are doing.”

I var ikke hurtige nok - Chelsea har sikrede sig Rosenior😃

@Tintin
God med dig.

Har en godbid til dig fra artiklen btw :)

Earlier in the season, Ratcliffe also proposed playing Bryan Mbeumo at wing-back.

Flere ting i artiklen fra Athletic.

For det første har Athletic før været fodret med "nyheder" fra klubben, hvorfor det jo heller ikke er mærkelig hvor lidt kritik og fokus der har været overfor Glazers og den nuværende ledelse igennem årene fra Athletic.

For det andet så er der altid 2 sider af en sag og artiklen her kommer kun efter info fra klubben hvorefter den selvfølgelig er ladet derefter. Der er åbenlyse spin flere steder i historien beregnet til at lade Amorim være the fall guy og at få ledelsen til at fremstå som de gode:

Berrada and Wilcox then called a meeting with the players. Wilcox told those listening that the last two days had really shocked him. He insisted the club had given Amorim what he wanted, but he had made his feelings clear on an exit. “We don’t understand where the last 48 hours have come from,” he told the squad. Wilcox said Amorim had changed and United had to act.
Wilcox, who has taken soundings from players, also told them he had sensed some situations where they were not on the same wavelength as Amorim.
Wilcox informed the players that Fletcher would be in charge for the next two games, taking in Wednesday’s trip to Burnley and Sunday’s home FA Cup tie against Brighton & Hove Albion. Fletcher then took the session alongside Travis Binnion, the under-21s lead coach. The mood was said to be excellent.

Ulækkert og helt igennem utroværdigt at læse imo, som siger mere om den ledelse vi har end det siger om Amorim. At man finder det nødvendigt at plante en så detaljeret historie i Athletic udstiller bare endnu mere inkompetencen imo.

Spillerne der jo har været med til det her møde og kan læse det her bagefter, hvad fanden tænker de om klubben, ledelsen og evt. hinanden?

Helt og aldeles inkompetent ledelse der febrilsk forsøger at dække over egen uduelighed ved at plante historier som de regner med bliver ædt råt af fan basen.

Jeg tror mere og mere det tegner henimod en "feel-good-se-væk-fra-kaoset" løsning i OGS som ny interim manager muligvis med Fletcher og Carrick inde over resten af sæsonen, som der går rygter om her til formiddag.

Det vil være en sjov konstellation garanteret Pundits goodwill udefra, men er reelt ren blikfang væk fra en ledelse i total kaos, der må se om man kan tage sig sammen til at samle et eller andet troværdigt op til næste sæson.

Amorim wrapped
Tænkte det ville være en god ide at få slået en sløjfe på Amorim tiden nu hvor den er slut. En “Amorim wrapped” om man vil som jo er blevet gjort populært af Spotify. Pudsigt nok er det jo ikke langt fra at hans periode som træner kun var i 2025 da han vist blev ansat i november 2024.

Stats
18,5% clean sheet rate (kun PL)
9,5% clean sheet rate denne sæson (inkl. Grimsby)
15% clean sheet rate med 343
100% clean sheet rate med 433 (høhø)

1,63 mål scoret per kamp
1,51 mål indkasseret per kamp
1,70 mål scoret per kamp denne sæson
1,50 mål indkasseret per kamp denne sæson

32% win rate overall. 1,43 point per kamp
38% win rate denne sæson. 1,55 point per kamp denne sæson

21% win rate med over 50% possession denne sæson (1 point per kamp i 14 kampe)
71% win rate med under 50% possession denne sæson (2,43 point per kamp i 7 kampe)

XG per kamp 1,63
XG imod per kamp 1,49
XG per kamp denne sæson 1,94
XG imod per kamp denne sæson 1,41
XPTS per kamp 1,45
XPTS per kamp denne sæson 1,65 (5th)

Alle xG tal er fra understat og der kan godt være sneget en fejl ind, men det burde være korrekt. Andre tal er taget fra officielle steder fra som fbref, transfermarkt, opta osv. Kan næppe finde dem alle igen so dont ask :)

Transfers
Ind:
Patrick Dorgu (€30) - januar 2025
Ayden Heaven (€2m) - januar 2025
Benjamin Sesko (€76,5m)
Bryan Mbeumo (€75m)
Matheus Cunha (€74,2m)
Senne Lammens (€21m)
Diego Leon (€4m)
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Samlet €282,7m

Ud:
Rashford (udlån x2 med €30m option)
Højlund (udlån med €50m option)
Garnacho (€46,2m)
Antony (udlån+€22m salg)
Andre Onana (udlån)
Sancho (udlån)
Malacia (udlån)
Lindelof (udløb)
Evans (udløb)
Eriksen (udløb)
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Samlet (inkl. optioner) €148,2m

Fun (or not so fun) facts
– Since taking over as United boss, United sit 14th in the overall Premier League standings, having collected fewer points than Nottingham Forest, Fulham, Bournemouth, Everton, Brighton and Brentford amonst others.

– Man Utd’s loss against Grimsby in the League Cup was the biggest financially lopsided defeat in English football history, with United’s squad being valued at 257 times more than Grimsby’s.

– Based on his points-per-game record, Amorim has a worse Premier League record than Alan Pardew, Sam Allardyce and Garry Monk.

– During his entire tenure, United only won consecutive league games on two occasions, during a three-game win streak back in October.

Andet?
- Carlos Fernandes’ (assistenten) offensive dødbolde vil blive savnet efter en katastrofal start under Amorim.
- Bedste præstation under Amorim? Hjemme mod Arsenal 0-1.
- Bedste moment under Amorim? Lyon comebacket.

Suppler gerne hvis der mangler noget eller der er en fejl :)

Det er en meget fin oversigt Deebo :)

Amorim har for dårlige resultater til, at man kan være specielt skuffet over fyringen. Men de sidste 3-4 måneder har det faktisk set bedre ud på en del parametre, og for mig at se, er det et kæmpe ledelsessvigt at fyre ham.

1. Ledelsen har med åbne øjne valgt en 3-4-3-manager og har solgt til alle, at det er 3-årig projekt, hvor der var behov for tålmodighed.

2. De siger, at de bakket Amorim op med massive investeringer i truppen, men de har tydeligvis sagt nej til flere af de spillere, som Amorim var efter for at stabilisere holdet (fx Watkins, Martinez, Baleba). Det betyder også, at de fyrer ham, før de har prøvet systemet med en central midtbanespiller og en erfaren wingback, der passer ind i det system. I stedet har Vivell fået lov til at købe spillere med talent, men som ikke er klar til at være startere hver uge.

3. De har angiveligt presset Amorim til et systemskifte mod Newcastle, selvom de selv har prioriteret en 3-4-3-træner, de har lovet selv bestemmer system og spillestil.

4. De prøver nu at sælge en historie om, at Fletcher er en bedre træner end ham, de betalte 20 mio. pund for at købe fri, og at spillerne nu har genvundet humøret til træning. Sandheden er nok nærmere, at de fleste af spillerne er dybt forvirrede, og at ledelsen nu tvinger den nye træner til et systemskifte midt i en sæson.

5. De bliver ved med at svigte januar-transfervinduet. De har ikke tid til at vente til sommer, og når vi når dertil, vælger de bedste spillere sandsynligvis en anden klub.

Personligt har jeg ingen gejst omkring en ny træner, for ledelsen har igen vist sig at svigte at sætte en retning, og derfor tror jeg ikke på, at vi er et skridt nærmere toppen, end da de begyndte i klubben.

Jeg er stadigvæk kæmpe fan af Rashford, der som en af de få ex United spillere er i stand til at udtrykke sig respektfuld, med kloghed og med varme om sin tidligere klub og som var så spot on da han for 1/2 års tid siden udtalte at United ganske enkelt aldrig har fået foretaget en ordentlig rebuild og at der jo ikke sker noget før man foretager sig denne.

Når der higes så meget efter resultat narrativerne på trods af at det ikke engang var derfor Amorim blev fyret understreger det jo blot de problemer der er i United, men handler også om hvordan medie møllen fungerer og tænker.

For at foretage en reel rebuild er svært nok i alle industrier, men specielt i så stor en biks som United i en underholdnings branche der er så afhængig af medie verdenen, der er det håbløst at fokusere på kortsigtede resultater hvis man er seriøs om at foretage en rebuild.

Når vi så oven i hatten har en ledelse som de sidste dage har vist med den soap agtige føjeton de har i halesporet fra ETH sagaen, til Ashworth og nu til Amorim på bare 18 måneder hvor helt igennem uduelig og inkompetent en ledelse vi har så siger det sig selv at rebuild ganske enkelt er en umulighed fremover. For man kommer ingen vegne uden en kompetent ledelse.

Det er også det jeg fornemmer Amorim har måtte indset inden han gav op. Han troede han var hyret til at stå i spidsen bag en reel rebuild med al hvad dette indebar som han var indstillet i at tage på sig, men fandt frem til nul opbakning fra en ledelse der flip floppede imellem formation, transfer strategi og lod sig diktere udefra. Og indså at en reel rebuild ganske enkelt ikke en mulighed i United for nogle managers og så lod han sig fyre.

Så jeg er helt enig med Pind, jeg tror heller ikke længere på at vi får en rebuild i klubben. Det der skal til er en ny ledelse og måske også en ny ejer idet SJR jo har hyret denne "Best In Class" ledelse og må stå på mål for de folk han har valgt.

Vi er og bliver Cirkus United som medierne elsker fordi vi er garant for drama, intriger, spekulationer og historier og det der er fra banen som oftest er negativt som sælger aviser og clicks mere end positive historier.

Medierne vil blot elske at dette fortsætter og skal nok sørge for at sætte de narrativer i søen der er behov for undervejs når den næste manager er ombord og så kører møllen igen. Amorim fik jo luget ud i en del Player FC som mediemøllen elsker, omend de så kan glæde sig over at Mainoo FC overlevede.

Vi har ikke vundet mesterskabet siden 2013 og hvor mange oprindelig grinte af at det tog Liverpool 30 år at vinde Pr.L. så kan vi meget vel ende op i det samme for vores næste mesterskab da vi nærmest ikke kan være længere fra et mesterskab end nu her - og vi er immervæk godt og vel halvvejs allerede imod de 30 år.

Men det bliver da rart at få lidt OGS feel-good-vibe-se-væk-fra-al-kaos´et fodbold som jeg mere og mere begynder at tro på er det ledelsen vælger ganske enkelt fordi OGS giver bedst mulige blikfang væk fra ledelsen og deres inkompetence - i hvertfald indtil sommer.

+1

Meget fint skrevet Pind.